A review by cakrawala
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 "I'm taking some time off. This is my year of rest and relaxation." 

A girl who's in her hibernation phase, where she decide to heavy amount of drugs to induce days of sleep, with the hope that one day she wake up and could restart her life. I was drawn to the the unique and absurd plot. Ottessa Moshfegh did a really great job to portrays the depressive episodes of a girl, conveying the frustration through her repeated habits.

The character development is really so strong until I kinda miss Reva, the narator's best friend, in the end of the book. The presence of Reva kinda pissed me off at first, it feels like I am become the narrator. But the chemistry between them really unbeatable and weird. It's complex yet beautiful at the same time.  Each characters have their own bizarre personality. No one seems normal here.

With a medium paced plot and detailed description, I have no reason to hate this book. The first half of the book might be boring, like most of the book, but chapter 6-8 were a bomb and I totally love it. When the narrator finally knows what to do and how to fulfil her wants. I like how smart she is, despite the absurdity of her actions.

But the nostalgia didn't hit. These weren't my memory. I felt just a tingling feeling in my hand, an eerie tingle, like when you nearly drop something precious off a balcony, but you don't.